Week 41 Antofagasta

Dec 19, 2015

So where do I start? Baptism!!! So as many of you know there was a young man in my previous sector named Javier. When I arrived to Arica this kid didn't want anything from us. He would go into the other room when we would come over to teach his cousins that were recently baptized. We began to show interest in teaching him and before we knew it, he was our best friend. Javier is a very special kid. He is very intelligent and understands the gospel really well. We taught him for several weeks and expressed several times to us that he wanted to get baptized. He even talked about wanting to serve a mission. Elder Francis and I had set a baptismal date for the 26 of December and he said "Is there any way that I can get baptized before that?" This just showed us how dedicated he really was. I had made a promise to Javier saying that I would baptize him but a few weeks ago I received a special transfer to work in the mission office. I was shocked.... and a little sad but I told President Dalton that if that is where the lord needs me, I will go. Javier was devastated but he understood that I had to go. Last week I called Elder Francis and he told me that Javier had a new baptismal date set for the 18th of December. This was music to my ears. I have learned a very valuable lesson in the mission. It does not matter who performs the baptisms. What’s important is that they get to that point. That they develop their own testimony and get baptized because they want to and know its right. We as missionaries tend to think we are failures if we don’t have many baptisms. That is not at all the case. As long as we are obedient, we will have success. If we invite, we will have success. I am proud to announce that Javier was baptized yesterday and I am proud to have helped him in this life changing experience whether I was there to see it or not. I seriously love the mission and I love everyone one that has helped me get to this point in my life. I know this is where the lord wants me and I can honestly say there is no other place in the world I would rather be. Thank you all. Here are the photos from Javiers baptism!

On another note, this week I had the opportunity to go to the zone conferences in Vallenar where I started the mission! Nothing has really changed there but it was cool to see it again. I didn't have the chance to see anyone that I knew but maybe next time. We also went to the zone conference in Copiapó. It was really fun. We prepare the lunches for all the missionaries. We had Christmas Tacos! Here are some pics.

Christmas Card fro the Office hahahaha

Javiers Baptism!

Elder Frances and Javier